John Thorpe
, Oxford |hidep= |gender=Male |hair= |eyes= |skin= |hidef= |family=*Mrs. Thorpe (mother), Mr. Thorpe † (late father) *Edward and William , Isabella, Maria Thorpe, and Anne |romance=Catherine Morland |hidem= |first= |latest= |portrayer=William Beck (Northanger Abbey, 2007 TV movie) }}John Thorpe is a character in Northanger Abbey. He is the only son of Mrs. Thorpe and the late Mr. Thorpe, and is brother to Isabella Thorpe, Maria Thorpe, and Anne Thorpe. He is friends with James Morland, Catherine Morland's brother.Northanger Abbey, Chapter 4 Biography Education John Thorpe went to the same school as James Morland, who spent Christmas with the Thorpes one year. Bath John Thorpe and James Morland ran into their sisters while in Bath.Chapter 7 He offered to drive Catherine to her destination. It was clear that Isabella was playing matchmaker to an extent, but mostly she wanted to remain alone with James Morland, as she had designs on him. John had bought a fashionable gig for 50 guineas and unabashedly bragged to Catherine about it, showing his crudeness. He also seemed to be under the impression that Catherine was Mr. Allen's goddaughter, which would leave her the heiress of most, if not all, of his fortune. Catherine put him to rights immediately, not pretending to a position she did not have, but he did not seem convinced. Later, he continued to show his ill-breeding by interrupting Catherine while she was dancing with Henry Tilney, and he seemed to show a kind of bemused jealousy, as if he did not quite believe that a pretty young lady would ignore his attentions for someone else. Tilney later came over to ask about it as he had been very put off by Thorpe's behavior. Catherine assured him that she only talked to Thorpe because he was a particular friend of her brother's, and for really no other reasons.Chapter 10 After Isabella and James Morland became officially engaged, John asked Catherine whether or not it would be agreeable if he visited her in Wiltshire. She, thinking he would be coming just as a friend and not as a suitor, encouraged his visit and said that company is always quite fun to have around.Chapter 15 It is believed that either Isabella or John let this slip to the Tilneys in order to put off Henry Tilney from pursuing Catherine. When it became known to the Thorpes that the Morlands were not as wealthy as they thought, John distanced himself from Catherine, and Isabella accused her of leading two men on—which she was not. Character traits He swears quite a bit and is very vain about everything. He makes up stories about himself that portray him in a heroic or very positive light. His mother dotes on him, and it is clear that she is where he gets most of his vanity. He and his sister are both very ambitious people, though Isabella is more cunning. They make a very effective team when trying to snag the Morlands in the marriage mart, but neither of them research carefully, thus neglecting to realize that the Morlands were only moderately wealthy. Notes and references Category:Male characters (Northanger Abbey) Category:Characters in Northanger Abbey